Atop The Highest Of Highs
by corruptone
Summary: When she's the only one left, what does Minerva McGonagall keep fighting for? AD/MM YAY!:


A/N- So I expect you'll find heaps of mistakes in this, I wrote it just as a spur of the moment type thing while i was sick at home and before I have to go back to school tomorrow, I really just wanted to publish it. If it changes POV suddenly, I spell something wrong or whatever please don't be to harsh. :) Thanks for reading and reviews are always greatly appreciated. 

"Minerva" … I hear him, I do not react though. The events of the last few hours were enough to subdue anyone into silence. Lily and James…gone…gone. I run the thought over in my mind. I watched them grow up, go from enemies to lovers, go from young children on the verge of a new adventure to adults bearing the weight of the world on the brink of war. Gone, I ponder again…my cubs lost. This war, this blasted war… depriving people of everything they hold dear.

I must keep going, keep on fighting, I know I must…but for what? I think for several more moments. I must keep fighting for the ones I love. More like the man I love…even if he doesn't feel the same way. Easier said than done, though, I think by way of conclusion.

I rest my hand against the frame of the window as I look down on the world below from the highest point of the astronomy tower…this, the highest of highs. Never would I reach a greater point, I thought dismally, while staring up at the swirling mass of gray sky, the heavens themselves were weeping for all that had been lost. Tendrils of my black hair sweep around my face in the bitter wind, I do not move to secure them though, I simply stand and listen to the winds roar as they sweep around the great expanse of Hogwarts.

Hogwarts. I have spent the majority of my life within its walls. It still holds the same mystique to me now as it did when I was a wee one, sitting on my fathers lap hearing of his adventures at the school. They were gone too, my parents, my sisters, the majority of my friends … perished, taken via the courses of time. It was just me, alone in the world now, I mused. All I really had was Albus and my cubs. That's why I would continue to return to Hogwarts year after year. It was my life, all I had left.

"Minerva"…he was still there behind me. Breaking out of my reverie, I turn to face him. His auburn, now graying hair and beard flew around his frame; his bright blue eyes seem to x-ray me over his spectacles. Every inch of his appearance seems to exude trustworthy-ness and wisdom. It takes all of my strength not run to his arms and cry into his chest.

"Yes, Albus," I say, I can hear the way my voice sounds, dry and croaky and probably barely audible over the roar of the winds atop the tower. The scene continues as it is for a while, in silence. We stare at each other from a distance, wondering what the other is thinking. Albus seems to be lost for words to say to me, I realize.

Finally he breaks stillness of night, "I know how you must feel Minerva," I think about snorting in contempt, before I wonder if he actually does, he after all has lived longer than I, seen more wonder, and evidently, seen more horror.

"But," he continues, "I also know that every inch of you is true to your names sake. You are wise, you are intelligent and you are courageous, I know you can face any hardship that stands in your way and overcome it." His voice is thinning and get quitter as he speaks, as if he is losing confidence in his own words.

"Oh, Albus," I say tears threatening to finally overcome me. "If only you knew how terrified I am."

He holds his arms out and I run into them without hesitation, he pushes the lose locks of hair behind my ears as I cry into his chest. What must he think of me now? Weak, he surely must find me weak.

Eventually he reaches down and tilts my chin upright. "Minerva," he states again, "you are my best friend," I knew it, that's all he thinks of me…as a friend, deep down I am hurt by this, but I don't let it show, I would rather have him as a friend than not have him in my life at all. "And," oh here we go I say inside my head, "I think the world of you, you are the reason I keep fighting. You are my morning, noon and night."

My heart seems to leap and I am no longer aware of my surroundings, I must know if this is true, not just some wild daydream, "Albus…are you…are you saying, what I think you are?"

He breaths deeply and holds on to me tight, "I'm saying I love you Minerva McGonagall, I realize now isn't an ideal time to admit my feelings but I simply can not bear the thought of losing you to this war, without telling you."

His words sound surreal to me but I can see the fire in his eyes.

"Good Lord," I mutter, my mind racing and my heart ablaze with happiness. I can see he thinks my words are sign of rejection, and he loosens his hold on my back. Instantly I miss his warm touch. Now that I have it, I hope I never have to live again without it.

"Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore," I say pulling him closer again, "I love you with my whole being. I never want to live another moment without you."

He tilts his head down to mine, and I realize his intentions, going up on my tip toes to meet his soft lips in a tender kiss. When the kiss is broken, I rest my forehead against his and stare into his eyes feeling as light as balloon. "Albus" I say "you are the reason, I keep fighting…I just never thought that you could ever fight for me…until tonight."

The grief isn't gone I realize, the world stills seems to mourn, the skies cry, the wind roars and the bitter cold seems to chill to the bone as we huddle together enjoying the others embrace atop the tower, but the world does seem lighter. It's like our love is the tiniest glimpse of the sun shining out from behind the clouds, defying the trend, the happiness amidst the horrors of war.

"Thank you for giving me something worth fighting for, Albus," I say.

"Thank you for loving an old cook like me, my dear…" he brushes his fingers softly against my check and leans down again.

I was so wrong, so wrong, I think, as his lips envelope mine lovingly…surely, this must be the highest of highs.


End file.
